Solution for Environment Modeling

First of all, this article is the Bible for level design:

http://blog.joelburgess.com/2013/04/skyrims-modular-level-design-gdc-2013.html

After seeing a few tutorials, I came up with a way to make level design modular.

First, I figured out how to snap to grips and line up objects perfectly in Maya:

(keeping the pivot at a corner is a good thing.)

(I seamlessly snapped two plants to a cube by selecting constrain to grid and point in Maya)

Since it's a horror game and the levels only feels right by testing them and play with them, I created 9 20 by 20 Maya unites tiles for level designers to work with( two sizes of doors, a floor with a wall, a straight corner, a floor, a wall, a curved corner, a block, a staircases):

While level designer can play with those tile. I may start learning some more texturing techniques and start painting something.

Getting started on Environment: Concept and Prep

I'm a pretty systematic when it comes to design. Some artists may start by drive right into drawing and see what works. However, I have to have a back story for the environment at the back of my head; I have to know the exact layout;I have to know exactly how to make thing. And most importantly... I have to be inspired.

Those are some images and resources I looked into for environment concepts:

layout:

https://www.google.com/search?q=spaceship+layout&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lf9VUsaXDs2g4AOHq4HQCQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1642&bih=898&dpr=1#q=spaceship%20floor%20plan&revid=1959306252&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

I don't know how spaceship will do layout, so it's good to look up how people designed them.

Environment retargeting:

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89682

Environment Modularity:

http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryEnvironmentModularity?highlight=%28%5CbCategoryEnvironment%5Cb%29

A simple tutorial on snapping to grids in Maya:

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/3d_modeling/maya-tutorial-for-beginners-09-snap-tool-pivot-move.php

Just testing the round motif:

There are so many goo stuff on polycount that I can't even appreciate it enough!!

October 3 Class Meeting and Feedback

Today we had a class meeting where we presented our five-page pitch, and received a lot of valuable feedback.

There are a some core concepts we need to fix about our game, and define in our game design document, which is due Oct 10. They are the following, in no particular order.

• Define our HUD: We don't plan to have any sort of HUD, but we didn't make that apparent in our five-page document. Are we going to have even a small dot as an aiming reticle for throwing objects? (Yes, they will have a minor aiming reticle)  How will the player know how much health Henry has if he gets injured? (Red boarder around the screen that gets more intense as they player has taken damage). No minimap, no gui, except for aiming reticle
• What are the specific in-game objectives? How will we convey where the player needs to go and what to do? Unsure at the moment. In the demo, maybe small gui text will tell them they need to fix something at the start of the demo? Long term, I think it would be best if Henry had like a mental checklist the player could pull up of things he needs to do. What are the end game conditions? If the player is killed by the Creature, or if the player solves the 2 or 3 puzzles we have for the demo.
• What is the expanded vision for our game? If we could take it further, what would this game be, and what will the vertical slice be? Is there a possibility of a series? What is the lifetime of the game?
• Define Henry and the Creature: What are their individual strengths, weaknesses, abilities, size, and specifics? Compare the two in relation to each other. Who's faster? Who can see better and hear better?
• The Creature:
• What is it's origin?
• What exactly does it look like?
• How did it get on the ship?
• How does it move and follow Henry - will it always be in the same room as him?
• Can it see light through walls? Hear through walls?
• Melee only? Is it a one-hit kill?
• Does Henry have a chance to get away if he's spotted?
• Henry:
• How many hits can he take before he is killed?
• Concept art ideas:
• Player shooting a ball of light while the enemy is somewhere on screen - maybe with the Creature taking notice. Something in an open room, more representative of the environment a player would see in-game.
• Puzzles: We need more explanations on our puzzles. What are some specific examples? How will the LEG be used to help solve them?
• What are some specific scenarios where using the LEG will present a fair risk and reward?
• Checkpoints: Will we have them? Is it game over if you die? Unsure. Lets talk to the programmers
• Safe zones: Will there be any? I would say yes in the full game, but I’m not sure if our demo will have any.

The Unseen: First Contact Five-Pager

Our five page pitch document can be found as a Google Doc here.

It's quite long, so I won't put the whole document in a post.

The Unseen: First Contact One-Pager

Our one page pitch can be found as a Google Doc here.

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The Unseen: First Contact

Overview

The game places you aboard the “Extraterrestrial Examination Station”, where the player controls Ensign Henry as he struggles to escape the Broodmother, an alien creature that has broken out of its containment cell. Armed only with a device that creates balls of energy, the player must explore and repair the ship while trying to avoid the monster at all costs.

Category

First person horror with environmental puzzles that have multiple solutions.

Features

• Environment: Many of the ship’s core functions have been disabled, including lighting. This creates a constant feeling of suspense and urgency.  The environment will also contain objects for the player to interact with.
• Stealth: Because Henry is not a fighter, the player must use the environment to avoid combat. Sound and light attract the alien, so the player can make use them as a distraction, but must avoid drawing attention to himself.
• Energy gun: The player decides when light is needed to explore and solve puzzles, and when it is a liability. Light can also be used as a tool to distract the alien.  However, the energy gun has limited power and recharges slowly, so the player must use it sparingly.
• Puzzles: Physics and environment based puzzles will be throughout the environment.  The energy gun will also be used in puzzles as a way to power certain objects in the environment which may help the player but cost valuable energy.

Level Design

The entirety of First Contact takes place aboard the E.E.S., a man-made space station orbiting just above the Earth. The demo will consist of a single level split up into multiple sections. However, this can easily be expanded into a multi-level structure if it is deemed appropriate or if we move forward.

Graphics

The game would have have a realistic 3D feel. Realistic textures, models, animations, and sounds will be implemented. Lighting will be a key factor for the ambience.

What Makes it Special

• Atmosphere: Immersion and ambiance will be the core values of the game. In a dark, disturbing and unnatural situations, the player will feel tense and uncomfortable.  Lighting and sound will be integral to convey the horror aspects of the game.
• Sound: The ability to use items and the environment to make noise to attract or distract the alien will be a major part of the game experience.
• Light: The player has an energy gun that can be used to fire an orb of light into the environment.  Light orbs will fade over time, and making brighter orbs requires more energy. The player will need to find resources to improve the gun over time.
• Multiple solutions: The player will complete puzzles that vary in difficulty and have the ability to complete puzzles in various ways, which alters the game experience. If the player chooses to complete a puzzle by a quick “brute force” method, it will be faster but noisier. If the player goes for the longer, more challenging route, it will be much quieter. The puzzles will be grounded in reality and not break the immersion or flow of the game.

September 30 Meeting Minutes

In attendance: Ryan, Jon, Cory, Dylan, Miguel, Don, Evan.

After we all threw around a few ideas, we agreed to keep the horror idea for our game, but with new mechanics and a completely different setting. It would take place aboard a space ship that has lost power, has been damaged, and is now stranded in space. The player's goal will to repair certain parts of the ship, while avoiding a creature. Light and sound will both play an important mechanic, as the creature will be attracted to both. The player will need to navigate the space stations using a gun that can create orbs of light, and also be used to solve puzzles.

September 29 Meeting Minutes

In attendance: Don, Jon, Dylan, Miguel, Evan
We met up today to further refine our ideas for The Unseen.

Miguel and Jon liked the idea of setting the game underwater. Their idea for the demo was this: the player would be controlling a diver in an old-fashioned style diving suit. The player would be tethered to a submarine, and exploring the ocean floor. Suddenly, there would be a violent pull from the tether, and the character would look back to see the submarine crashing down to the ocean floor and into a deep crevice. To avoid going down with the ship, the character would cut his tether which would seal his suit, giving him a limited amount of oxygen. The player would then navigate to the crashed submarine, and have to solve puzzles in order to repair the submarine.

While we liked the idea of setting the game underwater, Dylan and I were hesitant to try this because of our limited time to complete the game - we thought it would be difficult to give the game a realistic look and fill in such a short time span.

The team deliberated on our horror idea and tried to refine it by giving the game a theme and setting. We went through many different iterations for the setting, theme, objectives, puzzle types but we didn't settle on a single, solid idea. After two and a half hours of discussion, we agreed it would be best to give ourselves 24 hours to come up with self-refined ideas for a first person horror game, or come up with a completely new pitch for an entirely different game. We agreed to meet on the following day.

Week 1 Pitches (History)

Our team came up with two different game pitches this week.

The first idea was a side scrolling 2.5D  platformer called Subject 52. The player would pause the game and give game objects a path to move along, and when the player unpaused the objects would start moving in that direction. The player would use this mechanic to solve puzzles and advance through the levels.

The second idea was for a realistic 3D survival horror game called The Unseen. It would take place in a dark environment where the player would have to avoid being seen by a monster, which would be attracted to sound. If the player made too much sound while moving or running, it would attract the monster. The player could ideally use objects to distract the monster, and sneak past him.

We sent off both pitches to Professor Diefenbach, and received feedback that both ideas needed to be refined.